In Yoruba mythology, Oya (Alternative spellings: Oiá, Iansã, Iansan), is the Goddess of the Niger River.
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Aspects
She is seen in aspects of warrior-goddess of wind, lightning, fertility, fire, and magic. She creates hurricanes and tornadoes and guards the underworld[1]. Goddess of tornadoes, (which are said to be her whirling skirts as she dances), lighting (the power of which she acquired from her husband, Shango) earthquakes, and any kind of destruction. Beyond destruction, Oya is the goddess of change, transition, and the chaos that often brings it about. Her association with the marketplace, and more specifically with the gates of cemeteries (as opposed to the entire underworld), reveals her in her aspect as facilitator of transition.
Oya's close association with the passage from life into death also means she is one of the few Orishas which are worshiped alongside the Egun ancestors, whose cult is most often distinct from that of the Orishas. In stories, she can transform herself into a water buffalo. One of her preferred offerings is the eggplant.
Name
In Yoruba, the name Oya literally means "She Tore".[2] She is known as Oya-Yansan, the "mother of nine." This is due to the Niger River (known to the Yoruba as the Oya) traditionally being known for nine tributaries. In Brazil, in candomble she is generally saluted with the phrase "Èpa heyi!. while in Cuban-derived Yórùbá traditions, the faithful often salute her by saying "Hekua hey Yansa."
Connection to Other Orishas
She is closely associated with many Orishas, but most especially Shango/Changó, Oggun, Oba (Obba), Yewá/Euá and Ochún/Oxum. Oya is believed to have been Shango's favorite wife. Oyá is also called "the one who puts on pants to go to war" and "the one who grows a beard to go to war".
As the Spirit of the Wind, Oya manifests in Creation in the forms of sudden and drastic change, strong storms, and the flash of the marketplace. Oya's representation of wind, creation, and death is not as arbitrary as it may seem.
Oya has a sister named Ayao who is received by some of her initiates. The ritual and existence of Ayao is questionable, and it is hard to trace her origins outside of the Lukumi system. Ayao is mentioned in books by Lydia Cabrera and surfaced in the United States in the mid-nineties (1994-1995).
Syncreticism
Oya has been syncretized in Santeria with the Catholic images of Our Lady Of Candelaria (Our Lady of the Presentation) and St. Theresa. Her feast day is February 2.
In Brazilian Umbanda she is represented by Saint Barbara.
Notes
See also
Sources
OYA, Judith Gleason, Harper, San Francisco, 1992 (Shamballah, 1987), ISBN 0-06-250461-4
External links
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